Chocolate tea-the ultimate recipe

We should be facing warm spring days right now, but it seems something went wrong.As a direct result of the low temperatures, I prefer to sip hot, rich drinks. The first idea anyone could have, would be naturally a cup of green tea or delicious coffee. This spring I decided to bet on tea however in a very new version.

Chocolate tea – perfect drink to warm up from the inside out

This drink not only will leave pleasant warmth inside of you but thanks to theobromine contained in cocoa will boost up your energy levels to get you going through another cold day.

When reason sleeps demons dance Goya

Chocolate tea is not only a feast for the senses. Well balanced components ensure a lot of minerals and antioxidants are delivered right to your body.

It seems that the idea of chocolate tea evolved from cascara.

Cascara (or coffee cherry tea) is a tea made from the fruit of the coffee tree (coffee made with tea?! whoah my mind is blown away!). And more specifically with the skins of a coffee cherry (cascara in spanish means “peel”,”husk” or “skin”). The skins after being removed, are sun dried and then are ready to turn into a tea.

The original chocolate tea is made with cocoa shells with spices.

Given that raw cocoa shells are pretty hard to get, I decided to make my own version based on more commonly available cocoa nibs.

Ingredients for a teapot (4 cups):

black tea (I suggest Earl Grey due to the oil of bergamot which will flavour nicely the brew)

2 cups hot water

2-3 tbsp cocoa nibs or dark chocolate

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

cinnamon

cardamom

vanilla

ginger

clove

Optional-sugar and milk (I recommend coconut milk)

Preparation:

Brew tea, when it reaches the desired strenght remove leaves/bag

Melt chocolate/nibs in a saucepan with milk and spices

Add a tablespoon of cocoa and stir until all the ingredients blend nicely together